Guiders Staff Room Part 2

[Groovee]

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/extracurricularr_activities/715087-Guiders-39-staff-room-tea-wine-chat-and-optional-dancing

Part one above, new thread for when required x

Assembly activities anyone? For two year groups of potential Guides?

It's just a colour & put together elephant, InFlagrante, with the promise on one of it's feet. The tail is ribbon or string. Tie a knot every time they do something to keep the promise. They lead to interesting discussions with Rainbows!

I am knackered! One of my new Guides told me I'm the best teacher and one of three more new ones tonight wanted to come back tomorrow .

I made them sit and plan using a speed dating planning idea I saw on the fb group. They wanted to get the biscuits and pop so they came up with stuff! I will now tweak and pencil into a term plan so we can get on properly from next week.

Their little faces went :( when I said they had to give me at least one idea each to go on...

Going to have to be simple stuff next week and maybe the week after I think as I'm moving...somewhere - I thought maybe we could start looking at unit guidelines & try to cut out the shreiking, and discuss voting for activities (one girl had it spot on as they were picking & couldn't agree so she called for a vote). And maybe a look at promise and laws together.

Shouldn't need toooo much brain power or prep...apart from printing and biscuit buying.

I use tiny dot stickers to pick ideas. Print out the e.g. badge clauses big, give them 3-5 dots each to put on their preferred activities. Maybe not for Rainbows unless you used picture cards.

We had a lovely night at brownies then a huge confrontation between people in the car park which has really upset me as I had to deal with the aftermath despite not seeing the initial incident.

I ended up leaving in tears. My DC has agreed to come next week and try to resolve things.

What Happened?

Oh poor you Groovee

Selfish parking resulting in a horrible argument.

I'm knackered. County had an outdoors training day. We did outdoor cooking and fire lighting and building. Then orienteering in the afternoon. May sleep for a week!!

I'm a guider too x 38 guides and 20 rangers x been doing it 11 years
Slightly lost my mojo with it all this year due to staffing issues but trying my best to reclaim my interest x

Welcome Dizzy

Can't remember if I've ever introduced myself on here or just lurked

Anyway, I'm main leader for a Brownie pack. Been a guider for 7-8 years, this pack for 6 after relocating.

My training was rushed as the leader in place was moving so I generally don't follow the formal programme. It's all a bit hit and miss and girl led! Last year I got my going away with licence so can take them away on pack holidays/sleepovers which is my favourite part. I'm hoping to step down as unit leader after 10 years and join the district as a floating trips/holidays person

Imin we do 10 week terms to give us leeway as my unit helpers/young leaders are all students. It also means families can chose to pay weekly or termly. We only started back last week.

Well, my plan to have 2 weeks sorted for Rainbows and Guides so I don't have anything to do while moving went well! I have this Tuesday sorted for the Rainbows

Will crack on for an hour or two tomorrow after nipping for dd's prescripion and get as sorted as possible.

Happy new term, everyone :o

I have to say, preparing for Rainbows now smallest has started preschool is a bit of a revelation - I can mooch round the £shop without having to bribe anyone with haribo for a start!

Need some advice please though - re Brownies, which I ran last week as the usual leader had to be elsewhere. Towards the end of the session, the Guide leader came and got me, and showed me a hoodie that had been stuffed down the toilet. Fished it out, asked girls about it but nobody knew anything...nobody claimed the hoodie either and there was no name in it of course so I've brought it home and washed it.

How would you handle this? I'm tempted to say that since they can't be trusted in the toilets, they'll have to use the disabled loo that leads directly off the hall, rather than go out to the ones they normally use. And any access to the loos/changing area has to be under supervision of a leader or YL. Help!

Hi guys, fairly new to Mumsnet & just found this thread. Been a Rainbow & Brownie co-leader for about 4 years then started up our Guide unit again as unit leader 2, nearly 3 years ago. We're a small unit, usually around 10 but can go to 15 max due to hall size. It works well for our area as we take some SEN girls or girls w/ anxiety who find big units intimidating.

We did Promise / Law activities & planning the first week back. I made up some Laws & mixed them up with the real Laws & they had to remember which were real. Then they picked which Go For It activities they wanted for to do & my BP girls picked their activities, too.

We go big for Halloween and this year we're doing a bring-a-friend party. One of my fav things to do in autumn is no-carve pumpkins. In the past we've used Sharpies, studded with pins & my personal favourite was melted wax crayons! They looked amazing.

I think supervision in the toilets may be the way to go Rue, but not willy nilly so a leader's always out of the room -a set toilet break half way through maybe or someone will be traipsing back and forward all the time.

I presume it's not named? That in itself would drive me nuts.

Could the hoodie have been left by a different group using the premises? And one of the girls stuffed it down the loo? That could explain no one claiming it.

No, we're the only group there on a Friday night - and there's only ever one group at a time anyway. Since I posted there's a new issue, of one Brownie being accused of pinching and punching another during the session - I didn't see it, but we were using the parachute for some of the time so I have no reason to think it didn't happen.

Have washed and dried the hoodie, there's definitely no name anywhere on it, so I'll take it along next week and see if anyone claims it...

Hello newbies!

Groovee, that's dreadful. Was it Brownie parents? Glad your DC is behind you.

Rue, that's pretty shocking- think you might need to put them all on a tight leash until they show they can behave. It works with my (4) kids.

Italian night was 50% great and 50% fail! Had a boy from dd1's class (y6) in, he's half Italian, so he taught them some phrases and they loved it. Pizza making-great. The fail was pizza cooking. The oven at the hall is crap, so we decided to try disposable bbqs. It didn't work, but I had marshmallows as a back up

This week a nice simple walk along the canal, stopping to do some observation activities... What can go wrong

Good luck with the move Lucysmam

Thanks groovee

We are back for our second week this week, we are doing Go for its:
I always worry they won't bring stuff.

We still have 4 girls who were with us last year who have not let us know if they are returning. Why do parents do this??

Wrote an epic post and it got lost 😑

Welcome newbies

Toilets: inspection before they are allowed to leave and any issued make the parents sort it. Had three of the parents play rock paper scissors to choose who vleaned after a sleepover resulted in two clogged toilets.

An interesting thread on aibu www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2742345-to-be-pissed-off-that-the-town-hall-will-no-longer-let-me-run-my-club-due-to-us-not-accepting-girls

I started reading that thread this morning Becles, I love that it has s always Brownies that gets dragged into it and used as an example of all that is wrong with the world. Sadly I had to go out and haven't been back to see how much it has descended into fighting yet...

Thinking back, we had a brief toilet issue and ended up with them only allowed to go one at a time and the toilets being checked after each visit. Was time consuming and a pita but it solved the problems - I seem to remember our problems was toilet paper blocking the sinks...

So I am attempting a 'traditional' Brownie promise celebration tonight rather than just doing the promise out and about.

My plan is:
Quick circle (powwow?) to do register and talk about evening plans/hear any news.
Brownie Story told while playing the Jacobs Ladder game (one of their favourites)
Cupcake decorating with trefoil image (ish)
Brownie Promise washing line race (think I saw that on here?)
Decorate a glass with sharpies and put tea lights in them (Guiding light? Have I made that bit up?)
Promise ceremony.
Send 'em off again clutching cake, tea light thingy and smiles...

What do you all think?

Just got to the end of the boys craft club thread and feel a bit battered!!

Thornybird that sounds like a great night.

Thorny, sounds like a great night. Can I come?

Dizzy I gave up on the girls bringing their own GFI stuff a long time ago.

They choose their own activities & then tell me what to bring & I get it with subs money. They're 11, they don't really need to be worrying about getting ingredients for a chilli for 7 kids. Once they get to Baden Powell Award then I make them start being responsible for sourcing their own materials.

On another note, find out last night that both me and the other leader that run our unit are both having a baby within a month of each other. That didn't really work out too well! Happy that our kids will have good company but we'll have to go to Division to ask for some assistance for a term or so!!